Valley Review

[MmacFN]

Ok

I have read alot of stuff about this program but i really dont understand who they are or who sanctions them.

What is it? Who owns it? and is it sanctioned by the AANA? If it isnt, how do they know what to review?

[NursePink]

It's an intensive review course for SRNAs (or CRNAs for review) in preparation for board exam. They give you memorization tricks... such as how to remember intrinsic vs. extrinsic clotting factors. They review over a large chunk of physiology & pathophys which was designed to be more user friendly & understandable. The course is specifically outlined by topics. Tim goes over specific anesthesia components & techniques such as... the anesthesia machine, LMAs, OB, peds, etc. Scott handles the more scientific stuff.

It was put together years ago by Tim Sauvage, a CRNA & Norm (can't remember his last name), a scientist who has since passed away. Scott Schaus, a pathophysiologist took over for Norm. To the best of my knowledge, Tim owns it.

It is not sanctioned by the AANA. Quite the contrary. The Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists usually has Valley in court to try to get them shut down. There have been a growing number of "cheating" occurences over the past few years and the Council is cracking down. By cheating... I mean... students who take the test & email the questions to their fellow students. Or reviewing what was on your test with those who haven't taken it yet.

Bottom line... whether someone in your class tells you what they had on their test or not... there is such a huge amount of info on that board exam that one MUST study everything. I had a co-hort who listened to what others told him was on it, and he banked on that. He failed.

How do they know what to review?? They review over a large portion of what you learn as a student... ie. specifics of the ANS. They don't review over specific test questions but rather patterns in the information that make it easier to remember & understand. To pass the test... one has to know every aspect of their training.

I've heard mixed critiques from my old class. Some felt Valley was helpful and others did not. How I felt that it was beneficial to me... it gave me a structure & course of action to study for boards. The Memory Master questions were far more detailed that I ever would have studied. It truly forced me to understand all of the concepts inside & out. And THAT... is my 2 cents worth!! haha :bowl:

For anyone interested:

http://www.vaep.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?

[athomas91]

i feel valley is helpful but is in no way the be all and end all - i however am all for supporting any additional help as it is a comprehensive and daunting test.

as for the AANA being after valley - you are right - they are...but as of yet - legally they can't tackle them. part of me understands - wanting to keep the profession "pure" without question in regards of who passes the test and why - i do however find it amusing that MANY of the old-timers i have dealt with will openly admit that they and classmates shared every detail of that test.... in a way i feel it is double standard.

[MmacFN]

Interesting

Seems to me that there is nothing wrong with providing something which dosent seem to exist in any other form.

At the end of the day, how does it hurt anything if there is no real insider info? This is common practice for just about every large certification exam i can think of.

MCAT, GRE, CCRN, CEN, CFRN, FP-C

all of these have review classes avaliable by various groups. Why is it the AANA would care? I seems there must be more to the story as this is an accepted practice.

anyone know the real deal?

[athomas91]

the problem the AANA has w/ valley isn't that it is a review - it is that it is "rumored" that valley has students contact them and give them actual questions from boards - and then uses them in review. the AANA sees this as compromising the integrity of the test and the standard by which its providers are certified.

[Merlin]

For those of you who have taken Valley Review, how soon before graduation did you take the class and would you have changed that if you had to do it over? I will graduate Dec 2007 and take boards in mid Jan (that's the earliest we can take it due to paperwork issues). The 2 closest classes are offered in May and Sept and many of my classmates signed up for May, but that seems very early to me. I know VR will send us the books well ahead of time so I will be able to study from these even if I go to the later class. Any thoughts from those who have been there?

[NursePink]

I think September would be a better choice. I took it very early as well. I recorded the lectures, so I didn't have such a tough time reviewing the material a year later. There was some info that I hadn't fully grasped when I took the course.

I think it may be easier for you to 'put it all together' during the later session.

[Merlin]

Thanks Pink. I think I might benefit more from the later one. Good idea to record the lectures. I was thinking of doing the same thing.

[vigilent1]

I took VAlley and it definitely helped me organize. You need at least a year out so during your junior year try to take it so you have the materials(Memory Master, etc) to study from during your courses. They also help you rereview if you should fail.....that is reason enuf to take the course. I never heard of VAlley "cheating" do I would deny that rumor. They don't cheat that I am aware of but they are very helpful and always answered my questions. I have been out of school awhile so last I knew their website would take questions and they would email answers to you like subjects..i.e.-t.o.f. explainations, etc. No "test questions" or stuff like that. Also when I was in school we formed a study group of 3-4 persons, no more and met regularly 3 times a week to cover notes etc and to keep on track...this was most helpful and you develop close ties to your fellow classmates..I did at times develp into a grip session but that was important too to relieve stress from school since the family willl NOT understand. While in school my group was as close to me as my family and at times ....closer. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....but we really helped each other at the end while prior to that we were very, very competitive to push each other....quite funny now but I have tremendous respect for them as they pushed me to my limits and I know I pushed them....we are better for it.
Good luck............
Jeanie.

[SproutCRNA]

I graduated last Dec. 17 and I took the Valley Review in Cleveland the last week of October. I did not take boards until January 24.
I had a few "A-HA" moments during the rewiew course and Valley helped me devise a study plan. In their materials, they provide you with a study schedule based on how many weeks you have to study. Their information is divided up into modules that are very well organized. It was quite helpful for the seemingly overwhelming task!

I used both the memory master as well as the sweat book, and I supplemented that with Morgan and Mikhail. I think it is VERY important that you don't solely rely on just their materials!!
I did have maybe 5 questions verbatim from their material. I was glad I did not totally rely on their information, but used it as a guide.

Sprout

Can I just say that the smilies on this site are awesome!

[MmacFN]

hey sprout, glad you like them :) and Welcome!